Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX: Best starters to choose from

Choosing the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX best starters is tricky with 16 different Pokemon to choose from before your journey begins. You'll be presented with a personality quiz at the start of the game which will result in one of the 16 starters in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX being suggested to you, but you're not locked in to that choice. You can back out from the initial suggestion and select any Pokemon you want, along with your partner for your adventure. Obviously you want to make good choices so, with that in mind, here are the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX best starters to pick for either yourself or your buddy.

Charmander

I'm not going to beat around the bush; Charmander is probably the most powerful choice to start with. In the early game, you come up against a lot of Grass and Bug-type Pokemon which Charmander is strong against, plus it has a wide range of move types. Most notable is Dragon Rage, because Dragon-type Pokemon are not easy to recruit, along with Bite and Flame Burst. Eventually you'll get Charizard too, which everyone knows is one of the best Gen 1 Pokemon.

Machop

Machop has exclusively Fighting-type moves which are excellent against Normal and Rock-type Pokemon, two types you come up against somewhat frequently throughout the main story. While it is weak to Flying-types which can also be common, Machop eventually evolves into Machamp; one of the best Pokemon for dealing raw damage.

Pikachu

Yes, everyone's favourite yellow rodent is one of the best starters to choose in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX. It's not effective against Ground-type Pokemon but you don't face off against them until much later in the story and it knows four offensive moves, which are all different types. Grass Knot is excellent for any Rock or Water-type Pokemon you face, Electro Ball deals with the Flying and Water-types, and Iron Tail is great for Ice-types. Pick a Water-type like Squirtle or Mudkip as your partner and you'll be flying.

Eevee

For a curveball, try this. Eevee isn't great at the very start of the game because Normal-type Pokemon don't have any strengths and are weak to Fighting-types, but Eevee has a crucial trick up its sleeve. When you unlock the Luminous Cave after beating the first part of the story and know how to evolve, you can evolve it into Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Umbreon, or Espeon. Eevee is incredibly hard to recruit to your team later down the line too, so if your goal is to collect 'em all, Eevee is a top choice to start with.

Psyduck

You may be tempted to pick Squirtle, Totodile, or Mudkip as your Water-type, but let me make a case for Psyduck. This dopey duck may be a confused laughing stock most of the time, but it's a seriously strong Pokemon in Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX. Along with having Water Gun – meaning it's great against Fire, Ground, and Rock-types – it also knows two Psychic-type moves in Zen Headbutt and Confusion. This makes it great against Fighting and Poison-types, and you can teach it plenty of TMs too. Plus there's nothing better than seeing a lowly Psyduck take down Moltres or Groudon.

Which partner should I choose?

The rule of thumb for choosing your partner Pokemon is something that is strong against as many different types as possible. If you've gone for Pikachu who knows Grass Knot, there's no point in then picking Chikorita as your pal because you'll be limiting your type advantages. Instead, go for a Fire-type like Charmander who has moves that are almost exclusively of a different type. As long as you try to mix it up as much as possible, you should be fine because at the end of the day, there's no bad choice.